1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for a supplier to self-author the catalog management steps of providing, cleaning, classifying, value extracting, quality controlling, and publishing catalog information describing products/items available from the supplier. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for a Supplier Portal that is internet or network-accessible for a supplier to self-author the management of catalog information describing products/items available from the supplier.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the advent of eCommerce, adopters of this technology have been challenged to receive the promised ROI. Industry experts point directly to the failure of Suppliers and buyers not having a media process that will allow the parties to communicate via electronic data transfers all the requirements for a full life cycle of eCommerce Transactions. A Secondary Symptom to this is the failure of the parties to build a common language where product information can be transferred in a manner which will meets all of the business requirements of both parties.
Failures in eCommerce initiatives to date are directly related to the Cost of technology and the lack of communication protocols presented in a manner that buyers and sellers can relate to.
To address this need the parties must have a platform that will communicate the business requirements and encompass all the required business needs of all parties involved in the eCommerce transactions. A review of the business processes that require an interaction in eCommerce identifies the data elements that must fulfill the needs of the business processes that manage and control these transactions during a complete life cycle. An example some of these business processes, and potential Data Elements that can support them, include:
Shoppers: a review of the habits of people buying on the Internet shows that buyers need a certain level of product information to have confidence that what they are ordering will fit their needs. To inform the buyer the product information must present the data elements that will differentiate the product from other similar products, as an example: Electrical Tape, can be found in varying lengths and widths, but to meet industry standards different colors are also required for different applications where Black, Yellow and Red may address issues related to Safety, Process identifiers etc. A buyer looking within a catalog may find this tape, but without a unique characteristic of color the buyer would not be able to select the Tape they need.
Commodity Managers: These individuals within an organization are responsible for selecting supply sources, contracting with suppliers and verifying compliance. The data elements that support their business process are related to transaction information such as price, Quantities per price, Units of Measure, Delivery Dates, Commodity Coding—all Common data elements that allow comparisons for the same items from different sources.
Accounting: This process may require unique identifiers such as the Duns number for the Source of the Product, the Contracted Price, a commodity or unique code to charge the transaction to a budget.
To support true eCommerce and streamline the Procure to pay process there are business requirements place on Catalog data that is multi-Faceted. The process of collaborating with Supply sources must include the capability to express the requirements, to allow the requirements to be fulfilled and to communicate to submitters of product information whether those requirements are met or whether the information may need further input.
Gathering and transmitting these data elements can be a time consuming and costly task. To date supply sources have not met these requirements in general based on lack of technology that will lower the burden and lower the technical requirements on the supply community.
The Supplier Portal is designed to address these issues. This technology process provides a streamlined process on a simple technology platform that will allow suppliers to Create and manage their product information meeting all of the business objectives that Suppliers and buying organizations share, in a real-time collaborative web based environment.
Catalog creation and management are critical first steps in the Supply Chain Management process. Catalog creation involves the conversion of unstructured product/item data into structured information that is easily searched, compared, and selected for the purpose of ordering a product/item. Catalog management involves the ongoing data entry, updates, deletes, and modifications necessary to keep the catalog information complete, accurate and timely throughout the lifecycle of the products being presented for sale or other uses.
Many catalog management applications require a catalog information supplier team to continuously provide fresh data to a centralized administration team that is responsible for updating the catalog. The team members can be a part of the supplier's organization, or they can be members of an external group that is providing an outsourced service. If the team has to service multiple suppliers, delays in the catalog updating process can occur due to competing tasks and priorities, and information quality can suffer.
Since a supplier's economic success depends in part upon an ability to get the latest product information to potential buyers on a timely basis, it is essential that there be no delays or errors in the catalog management process, and that the resulting catalog information be up-to-date, complete and accurate. To maximize control of the presentation of up-to-date, complete and accurate catalog information to customers, suppliers need direct and timely access to their catalog information as well as user friendly tools that allow them to add, find, modify, quality control and delete their product information.
The term tool refers to the tools of the knowledge worker, and includes templates, rules engines, workflow processes, forms, pick lists, and other devices that provide suggested structures or processes that make it easier for the supplier to carry out content and catalog management processes.
To compete in today's fast changing competitive environment, a supplier needs greater speed, flexibility, functionality and self-authoring control than is provide by current catalog management applications.
Suppliers need tools that work for both Buy-Side and Sell-Side Product information. They need to manage product item data coming from their suppliers, as well as that being sent to their customers. Many applications in the field only work with either buy or sell side processes, but not both.
Suppliers need tools that facilitate the quick and easy online submittal of Images and Attachments (technical documents like product specifications, warranty agreements, wiring diagrams, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) etc.) that are essential to providing catalog viewers with a “picture” of the items they are considering for purchase. Other applications in the field either do not facilitate online image management, or do so in a manner that is not quick and easy for a supplier not experienced with the process of managing images or attachments.
Suppliers need tools to help them classify product data items, and extract meaningful values for the product attributes. Many applications in the field require the supplier to have the skills to perform these tasks manually.
Suppliers need tools to help them determine what customers can view which catalog information.
Suppliers need tools that allow users with different roles and tasks to work on the same system at the same time, and even on the same task.
Supplier personnel need to be notified when an assigned task becomes available for completion. The Supplier Portal notifies task owners when an assigned task is available for work. This leads to improved process efficiencies by minimizing process delays.
Suppliers frequently choose to utilize material experts to help with aspects of catalog item classification and attribute value extraction.
Different aspects of catalog management require different types of approvals and suppliers need to be able to self-author user configurations, access rights and authorization.
Suppliers need to present their catalog items in different ways to different customers to meet marketplace requirements. Standards bodies like UCCnet are setting the standards by which product item data is structured, formatted, and defined.
Suppliers do not always know how potential customers want or need the product item data structured or defined.
Suppliers need to be able to have a shopping-like platform where they can simulate what their potential buyers will experience while shopping for their products.
Suppliers need catalogs of product item data that is easily searchable by untrained customers. Items that are not easily searchable are items that are not likely to be bought.
Suppliers need to quickly and easily publish rich-content product item data to multiple third party procurement applications.
Suppliers need extensive reporting capabilities to monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of their catalog management processes.